“She doesn’t take crap from anybody”: When Sue Bird described Dawn Staley’s indomitable playing and coaching style

Sue Bird, one of the greatest to suit up in the WNBA, has played alongside Dawn Staley, competed against her and played under her as a coach.

They share a decade-long friendship, having first played together for Team USA at the 2002 FIBA World Championship in China, where they won gold. Earlier that year, Bird was picked by the Seattle Storm in the WNBA draft, while Staley was playing for the Charlotte Sting.

Dawn Staley retired in 2006 and began her coaching journey. She coached Team USA during its gold medal run at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with Sue Bird as her starting point guard.

Ahead of their trip to Japan, several players from the 2020 roster, including 13-time WNBA All-Star Bird, shared their thoughts on Staley. The interview was posted by NBC Sports in April 2020.

"Dawn is actually known to flap those lips a little bit. She is definitely not afraid to mix it up. She wasn't as a player, and she's not as a coach," Bird said. "There's just an intensity about her, a focus about her. She doesn't take the crap from anybody.

"She just knows, she's been there, she understands, she knows what it's like to be a player. So, that connection that you can have with a coach when they've actually experienced it, it makes things a lot easier."

Dawn Staley explains South Carolina's slow start this season

Despite winning the first three games, Dawn Staley is not happy with the South Carolina Gamecocks' slow start to games.

In their season opener against Michigan, the Gamecocks struggled to hold onto a lead during the first half. On Sunday, they allowed NC State to score nine straight points at the end of the second quarter.

Against Coppin State on Thursday, South Carolina was leading by just three points with two minutes left to play in the first quarter.

"(It’s) just a new team — I mean, it’s the same team, but it’s a new team," Staley said. "The dynamics have changed. The way we do things has changed, especially offensively.

"We don’t have an anchor – you just throw it up, she grabs it, calms everybody down, scores or leads to a score ... It’s just — we got to settle in, and we just got to play a lot more lead."

Dawn Staley and No. 1 South Carolina will face East Carolina at 2 p.m. ET Sunday at Colonial Life Arena.